Decommissioning and reusing churches: issues and research perspectives

The phenomena of underutilization, decommissioning and reuse of religious heritage are considered key issues by ecclesiastical institutions, research centers and others working in the realms of culture. The social, economic and technical dynamics that are caused by these phenomena are relevant not only for the ecclesial milieu but for all of society. In order to encourage the encounter between researchers and ecclesial subjects, the the Responsible Risk Resilience Centre (R3C) at the Politecnico di Torino aimed - in the frame of the coopereation with Pontifical Council of Culture, Pontifical Gregorian University and Conference of the Bishops of Italy - at surveying interdisciplinary research projects on the subject, focusing on architectural and urban issues, and based on studies of the social and theological-pastoral sciences as well. The call to report on ongoing studies or those recently concluded invited the research centers to consider three issues: 1. Wide-scale Research. Establishing the enquiry at a regional level underlines that individual choices on a decommissioned building cannot neglect a broader framework to interpret social, cultural and pastoral dynamics, major risk factors and a regional planning perspective of religious heritage, focusing on the responsible involvement of worshippers and local communities, and on the enhancement of the resilience of local systems. 2. Discernment of Method. Faced with a plurality of approaches, the question of the selection (motivated and transparent) of methods is raised concerning decision-making processes concerning reuse, regeneration and revitalization of decommissioned or redundant religious heritage, specifically assessment methods considering ecclesial, social, cultural and economic dynamics, aiding collective discernment about the maintenance of the worship function, or other appropriate utilizations or transformations. 3. Theoretical Issues. The complexity of the challenges requires further reflection on the significance of reuse of religious heritage, considered in relation to restoration theory, sociological models, architectural design theory and – in general – all disciplines concerning heritagization processes and the sustainable regeneration of cultural heritage. The appeal was received by more than 30 research groups, involving about 50 scholars from different disciplines (from architectural design to canon law, passing through historical, sociological, management studies, etc.), working in research centers in 12 countries (from Canada to Turkey). 15 experiences are published in this section of the book, introduced by the scientific committee of the call.The aim of the initiative – both in its expositive and editorial aspects – is to inform ecclesiastical subjects about the themes investigated by the academic world regarding the reuse of churches, but also to inspire institutions in their policies of regeneration and enhancement, and to allow the exchange of research methods between working groups and different countries.